Paradise Island
by ChevyImpala5132
Summary: Rachel's going to PEI with her best friend. But while on the ferry she falls overboard & is rescued by a stranger. She thinks nothing of it, not realizing she gained an unnatural talent from the fall or that the one who rescued her is just as unnatural.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rachel

I shoved the numerous outfits I had laid out the night before into the almost over-flowing suitcase sitting on my bed. There was _no_ way all of my stuff was going to fit in it... Oh well. I continued to ransack my apartment for things to pack, heart thudding with excitement. In just a short 17 hours, I would be in the insanely green and red heaven that is Prince Edward Island.

The sound of knocking echoed throughout the small apartment, and the door opened to reveal the insanely attractive and muscular Jared Timber. Sadly, he's my best friend, so I don't qualify to date him.

"Hey!" He grinned, catching me in a hug and planting a kiss the top of my head. I laughed and looked up at him, his sandy blond hair falling over his eyes.

"Jared! Get off me and go shave." I said crossly.

His eyebrows rose, "Shave?" He asked, face quizzical. I nodded and gestured towards the stubble on his chin.

"Every time you hug me now, my face gets all scratched." I complained, twisting out of his grip. He laughed and rubbed the side of his face.

"It's not _that_ bad is it?" He winked, his blue-grey eyes twinkling. I rolled my eyes and strolled away; grabbing the bag I kept my makeup and other bathroom stuff in and tossing it in the general direction of my suitcase. It missed the opening and toppled off the edge of the bed and onto the floor.

Jared picked it up and placed it into my suitcase, rifling through the stuff I had previously shoved in. I stormed over and hit his shoulders, hating that I had to go on my toes to do it, "Stop snooping through my crap and get the car ready."

"So you mean you're _finally_ done packing?" He said sarcastically, taking his car keys from the pocket of his sweater and swinging them around his finger. The keys rattled and shone as they waved around in the air.

"Yes, that means I'm done. Jeez, you're impatient." I zipped up my suitcase and started lugging it out the door, stopping to check and make sure I had turned off all the lights. God knows how long I would be gone for. Then I shut the door and twisted the handle, making sure it was locked before I hauled the suitcase- which was half the size of me –into the awaiting elevator.

I slid in and watched the elevator doors slide shut, my stomach dropping as the elevator lurched downwards suddenly. I stared at my reflection in the doors, my long blond hair dropping to the center of my back in ringlets and brushing over my light green eyes. I had on my favourite blue baggy sweater- perfect for sleeping in the car during drives, and light grey sweatpants. My makeup was quickly brushed on- I was too excited this morning to even bother putting eyeliner on.

Jared of course, looked amazing. His sandy blond hair was spiked up in the front, his eyes sharp and focused. You could see the muscles on his arms through the sweater he was wearing, and his lips tweaked in a smile when he noticed I was staring at him.

"Whatcha' looking at?" He laughed as my face flushed, and I averted my eyes as to avoid his gaze.

"Nothing." I mumbled, silently thanking the heavens that the elevator had reached the bottom and was sliding open, giving me a chance to escape.

Out the door and in his comfortable blue truck, I allowed myself to doze in the front seat, propped against a pillow as he secured the luggage in the trunk.

I woke up a couple hours later- clearly, I had been more tired than I had thought. Jared glanced over at me while I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and yawning.

"Finally awake?" He asked grinning.

"Yeah, yeah." I mumbled, not fully conscious. I stretched my aching limbs and turned up the stereo, which was playing a country song.

I grimaced, "What's this bumpkin stuff?" I hated country music. No idea why, I just never liked it; even when I was little.

"No idea." He punched in a CD, skipping to a certain song. As soon as the drum beats started I recognized it and sat up straight in my seat, the techno song managing to get me fully awake and bouncing to the beat.

I rolled down the window and stuck my hand out the window, feeling the cool air splay my fingers apart.

"This is going to be an awesome summer vacation." I grinned, closing my eyes and luxuriating in the feeling of warm wind twisting in my hand.

"Yeah," Jared agreed, "And it'll be great to get out of Kingston and away from Ruzbic for a while." I nodded. Ruzbic University was one of the more expensive universities in Kingston that both Jared and I attended, and now that we were finally going to P.E.I we could escape the stress of homework and relax more.

"So Jared," I started.

"So Rachel." He echoed.

"This is what, your second time going to Prince Edward?" I asked, turning down the techno so I could hear him better.

"Yeah."

"Why did you go the first time?"

He hesitated, "Business."

"You went there for _business_? What kind of business involves a 20 year old man who's still in University?"

"Family business." I shut up then. Jared's family history was kind of messed up; he didn't talk about it much. All I knew was that he hated his father, for something that involved a lot of court sessions and law suits since he was six.

I sighed, causing him to shoot a confused glance in my direction, "What's wrong?"

"You know, I woke up this morning super excited."

"And...?"

"And now I'm realizing this is going to be a _very_ long drive."

We stopped at a cafe for dinner, eating _extremely_ overpriced egg salad sandwiches' and sipping cartons of chocolate milk before going back into the truck and heading back out onto the road. Eventually we pulled up to wear a long line of cars were waiting to board onto the ferry. I groaned, wishing that we could be on the boat already.

"How much longer is it going to _be_?" I wailed, flailing my arms around in frustration.

"About a 20 more minutes until we're boarding." He yawned. I placed the pillow I had been sleeping on over my face and screamed, the pillow muffling the yell.

"I want to be on _now_." I whined.

"Impatient?"

"You know me Jared, I'm always impatient." He laughed, sounding exhausted. I didn't blame him.

After what seemed like forever, the line started movie, jostling us awake so we could drive onto the ship and climb into the small rooms provided- and when I say small, I mean _small._

There was barely enough space to be considered a room, with two bunk beds tacked onto the wall and a door leading into a bathroom containing only a toilet and a sink.

"Well, I don't know about you but I want to go look around the ship." I declared. It was my first time on a ferry, sad as it sounds considering I was 19 years old, but I was buzzing with excitement that we were finally here.

"I'll go with you if you want." Jared grinned, seeing my happiness etched onto every feature.

"Okay." I smiled.

We had gotten to the doors before Jared smacked his forehead, "I forgot to lock the door. I'll b back in 5 minutes, tops."

"Good job," I laughed, "I'll be outside on the dock somewhere."

He nodded and ran back as I walked out the door and started to stroll around the outside of the boat, the night air running through my blond hair. I laughed despite the fact that everyone was staring at me and leaned over the edge, loving how the waves crashed against the side of the ship.

"Oh god. Of all the people I had to see here, why is it you?" I heard someone sneer. I automatically tensed, recognizing her voice. Sure enough, when I turned I saw Jessica Dominique, who was a rank A snob that went to Ruzbic. We never got along.

Why was it we hated each other? No idea; but we did. Her cropped brown hair was being flung everywhere, her smoky blue eyes glaring at me. Worst of all, she was about a foot taller than I was, so she could literally talk down to me. Beside her was her one-of-many boyfriends Austin.

"Just when I was starting to think this was going to be fun." I muttered. She ignored me and glanced around.

"So where's your boyfriend?"

My eyebrows rose, "Excuse me?"

"Justin or whatever his name is. You know- tall, great body, hangs around you all the time."

"You mean _Jared_?" I let out a laugh, noticing how her jaw tensed up as I did. She opened her mouth to talk and I interrupted her, "He's here, yes, and he's _not_ my boyfriend."

"Oh right, I forgot. You can't get one." She laughed.

"At least I don't have _four_, unlike a certain person I know." I said innocently, watching her teeth clench. She looked at Austin quickly.

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about." Okay, she was really starting to annoy me. I sucked in a breath.

"Well, that isn't what Dylan says." I said, "Because he asked me a couple days ago for what to get you as a 2 month anniversary present." Austin's eyebrows shot up.

"You and Dylan? Dylan Limmer?" He asked her, shocked written all over his face.

I grinned, "Limmer. Yeah, that's the one. I'm pretty sure there's also a Max Little and Tanner Jenkins somewhere in all of this... is that right Jessica?" Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Jared coming out of the door, his eyes narrowing as he spotted me talking to Jessica.

"You little..." She snarled, not even bothering to finish the insult. Her hand clenched and she lashed out, hitting me in side of the face. I gasped, reeling backwards.

"_Jessica_!" Austin yelled, reaching out to steady me.

"I'm going to _kill_ you!" She screamed, shoving me closer to the railing. The back of my foot hit a rod lying on the floor and I ended up toppling backwards, falling over the side of the railing.

I screamed, arms reaching out to catch hold of something- anything –before I was launched into the black waves below me and engulfed in shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Luca

The hot sun beat down on the top deck of the ferry making its way to PEI. The wind whipped through my hair messing it up and dropping auburn locks in my eyes. I tipped back my head and glanced over at my twin brother, Dante.

"Aren't you being cooked alive in that?" I raised my eyebrows pointedly at his all black outfit complete with a black hat sitting on top of his shaggy black hair. He snorted.

"You're the one who wouldn't let me change before getting on the ferry," his blue eyes pierced me accusingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Right," I said sarcastically. "And who insisted on gunning it and making it to this ferry instead of the next one?"

"That's only because—" Dante's reply was cut short by a scream piercing the air. My head whipped around just in time to see a girl fall over the edge of the ferry, terror written all over her face. Without thinking I sprinted over and vaulted myself over the edge, reaching for the girl's outstretched hand.

Fingers clasped mine and for a second all I could feel was an electric current running through my whole body. Something was being drained from me and sucked into the girl. Cold water rushed up to meet me, drenching my whole body right to the bone.

I felt the change coming on and wondered why I jumped over the edge in the first place. We were on a boat for god's sake. The dumbest thing for one of us to do is to jump off a BOAT.

I sighed to myself and wrapped an arm around the flailing girl, trying to keep her eyes off my face. A life float splashed into the water beside me and I grabbed it, throwing the girl into it.

I made my way onto the deck trying to hide my face. Dante pushed through the crowd and threw a blanket around my shoulders, dragging me to our cabin.

Once dried off I willed myself to change back before the girl came looking for me to thank me.

"Wait," my eyes flew open. "I can't feel you." Dante raised an eyebrow.

"You wanna feel me?" The corner of his mouth twitched. I sighed in exhasperation.

"No, what I mean is I can't sense you. You're not there, it's like that power's just gone." Dante narrowed his eyes. "When the girl grabbed my hand, her other hand was already in the water, my power must've been sucked from me to her within those short milliseconds.

"Shit," Dante ripped off his hat and raked his hand through his hair. "So, she has the power now?

"Yeah I guess so," I sat down."She's going to be hunted down by others just for that."

"We dragged her into something she doesn't even know about," Dante glanced at me. "She's going to have to find out eventually."

There was a knock at the door. I jumped up and changed back while Dante answered the door.

"Um, hi," said a high voice. "Is this where the guy who saved me is staying?"

"Yes, it is." Dante's voice was calm and cool, like he was trying to mask an emotion. I'd heard that tone many times before, he was putting up a guard that no one could breach.

"Can I come in?" The girl questioned. I sat down quickly with the blanket still wrapped around my freezing body. Dante stepped aside, letting the girl in.

She was tiny, and extraordinarily beautiful, her waist length blond hair framing her face perfectly. No wonder Dante put up a guard. She could take down any guy's defences. She had a blanket wrapped around her and smiled shyly.

"Hi, um, thanks for saving me out there, I really appreciate it. If there's anything I can do for you, just come find me, I'm in room number 18," She smiled again and glanced at the doorway where Dante was standing. Her brows pulled together over her straight nose. She glanced between Dante and me and gave a slight shake of her head.

I gave her a questioning smile. She stared at me for a second before her green eyes cleared of any confusion. She grinned at me, stunning me anew with her beauty. A blond guy was suddenly at her side, urging her out of the room.

"Thanks for saving her," He smiled but it seemed strained.

"Hey, hey, there's no need to rush," the girl said. "He saved me, I'm very grateful for that."

"Yes, I know that, now c'mon lets go," he put his hand on the small of her back in a possessive gesture. The girl frowned but obeyed him. Dante closed the door behind them. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Don't ask me why that guy seemed stingy," I told him. "He seemed very... possessive of her."

"Yeah I'd say so," Dante grinned." Did you see the look he gave you? If you were human, you would be a charred pile of ashes."

"Well, I'm not," I sighed. "Did you see the look _she_ gave us? She sensed us."

"Luca," Dante looked at me. "She doesn't know, not yet. We'll just follow her for a while and grab her at the right time, tell her, and keep her under a watchful eye."

"Yeah, okay, it's just that I can't sense anymore so I can't warn you." I pinched the bridge of my nose, why did this have to happen _today_ of all days?

"Well there isn't really anything else we can do." Dante said, clearly frustrated.

"What do you mean?"

"We just came back from working a case in New Brunswick, and now we have to keep an eye on this... this _elf_. This shouldn't be our responsibility." He spat, walking around the room in anger.

"I hate to say it Dante, but- yeah, we _do_ hold responsibility for her. She's going to be dragged into something that shouldn't concern her because of us."

"No," He snarled, "Because of _you_. This is completely your fault."

I couldn't help gaping at him, "How is this my fault? Because I _saved_ her? You couldn't have actually expected me to leave her to drown!"

"_Luca_," He snarled, eyes flashing, "Yes, I _did_ expect you to. What were you _thinking_? Jumping off the edge of the ship, into _water_. Can you imagine what would have happened if she saw you?"

"But she _didn't_. Nobody did." I protested. On some level, I knew my brother was right... I just hated to admit it.

"You could've just let some other random guy save her," Dante's head whipped around and his eyes narrowed. "Why _did_ you save her?" I was speechless, why did I save her? Well it was a girl, drowning, what else was I supposed to do? "I guess your manly ego kicked in," Dante stopped pacing and sat down.

"You are a Wolf Demon Luca, who transforms when water touches you! I can't believe you would jeopardize the truth of our existence to the humans!" Dante ranted. I sat wrapped in my blanket.

"I'm sorry, okay?" I finally exclaimed.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Dante stood up. "I can't look at you right now, the stupidity of what you've done blows my mind, I need some air." Dante stormed out of the small cabin, slamming the door behind him.

I sighed. I don't even know what compelled me to jump into the freezing depths for one girl. It's like one of my demon senses was screaming to save her and took control.

Why didn't the blond guy just jump in after her? He seemed like her boyfriend or something. My gut clenched in distaste when I thought of him. There was something wrong with him, something very wrong. I shook my head and stood up.

I was dry now; my fangs and red eyes disappeared a while ago. I flung open the door and walked up the short flight of stairs, making my way to the deck. The ship rocked unsteadily, causing me to lose my balance for a second. Hands clasped my arm and I glanced up to see the small face of the girl I saved.

She smiled, "Hi again."

"Hi," I walked up the last few steps and looked down, really, down. She pursed her lips seeming to try to think of what to say.

"So... you're feeling okay now?" I blurted out, then silently cursed myself. _Of all the idiotic things I could say..._

The girl however, didn't seem to care, "I'm feeling great. Thank you again, seriously." She hesitated a moment before adding, "My name's Rachel."

"Luca."

"Luca? Unique name, I like it." She grinned, making my heart flutter. She really was gorgeous.

"It's Italian." I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned, seeing my brother standing behind me with a stony expression on his face.

"Let's go Luca." He was clearly still pissed off at me, but was willing to talk to me.

"Oh, right." I glanced back at Rachel, "Sorry for his rudeness. This is my brother, Dante."

She nodded, "I can tell. You look alike." I started. That was the first time anyone's ever seen any kind of resemblance between me and my brother. She glanced around quickly, "I should probably go too. I have no doubt Jared's flipping out, looking for me." She gave a small laugh.

I grinned back, "See you later."

"Bye Luca, Dante- and thanks again." She waved and walked off, her hair billowing behind her. No sooner than she when she turned the corner, Dante slammed a punch into my arm. I toppled backwards and hit the side of the boat.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For being an idiot." He growled, "Now let's go back to the cabin; we need to sleep." I agreed, narrowing my eyes and stalking past him back towards the door and into our room.

The front of the ferry was lowering oh-so-slowly to let us all off. We sat in our cars for a few minutes until the line of cars started to move. We made our way off the ramp and kept an eye on Rachel and Jason's blue truck, tailing it inconspicuously.

"So, the plan is to tail them to the place they're staying at, and snatch her when she's alone and when she would least expect it?" Dante looked at me with a disgusted look on his face. Obviously he was still mad at me about the 'incident' on the boat.

"Yes, do you have a problem with it?" I asked without taking my eyes off the winding road. Dante shifted in his seat.

"Actually, Yes I do," Dante smirked. "Sometimes you're just too kind hearted and it pisses me off. Why don't we just wait for her to exit the car and then snatch her, it'd be some much easier than having to stake out and wait for the 'perfect' opportunity." I looked at him.

"No," Dante rolled his eyes.

"Whatever"

"End-of-dis-cuss-ion," I said in a sin-song voice

"You always have to get the last word in don't you?"

"Yup." I grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

*Quick Side Note*

If anybody is wondering, two people on FanFiction have this story (Me and Chevyimpala5132). Don't worry- it's just because we're _both _working on it. I write the chapters with Rachel, she writes the chapters with Dante, and we both work on Luca's chapters together. THANKS GUYS! 3

Chapter 3

Rachel

I sneezed, my body jerking quickly before falling back onto the leather seats in Jared's truck. He glanced at me.

"I think you're getting sick." He observed.

"That generally tends to happen when you almost drown in _freezing_ cold water." I coughed. He ignored my sarcasm and turned up the heat.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I didn't even see Jessica on the boat." He growled, probably thinking of a million ways he could get back at her.

"Jared, don't be." I protested, "There wasn't any way that you could have stopped her. She's a psychopath remember? Besides, that Luca guy came in and rescued me, so I'm fine." At the mention of Luca, Jared's fingers clenched on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from pressure.

_Now that I think about it... Jared never really seemed to like those guys. He kept trying to get me away from them. _I realized. I didn't comment as he sped down the street, eventually turning into the parking lot of a huge white hotel.

"I'm going to get us checked in, okay? I'll be back soon." He said, cutting of the engine and getting out of the truck. The door shut with a slam. I sighed and clicked random buttons on the dashboard, glancing up every two seconds to see when Jared was coming out.

Finally I saw his sandy blond head bobbing out the door. He jogged over and opened the door a crack to talk to me, "All set; now we just need to bring our luggage up." I grinned and climbed out of the car, then pulled my hair up with an elastic to stop it from getting in my face.

As we hauled the numerous suitcases' and other bags from the back of the trunk, I saw a slick red car pull into the parking lot. The car drove by slowly, the tinted windows blocking the faces of the people in the car. As it drove past, I felt a sharp pulse in the pit of my stomach before it slid to a stop across the lot.

"You okay?" Jared asked, dragging me back to reality.

I nodded hastily, "Of course. Let's get this stuff inside."

I flopped down on the hotel bed, my curls falling in front of my face like a curtain. I laughed, rolling around on the soft sheets.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jared asked, coming in the room and grinning as he saw me lounging across the pool of blankets and pillows.

I giggled, burrowing under the puffy materials, "You know I love it." He grinned wickedly in reply.

Becoming rapidly bored of thrashing around in the sheets, I sat up and blew the hair away from my face impatiently. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's up?"

"I want..." I hesitated, gnawing on my lip.

"Yes?"

"I want... to go shopping." I mumbled, glancing up at him through my eyelashes. He sputtered a laugh and glanced away.

"Of course you do. Well, if you get changed I'll drive you out and you can go shopping while I go hit the gym." Jared said, winking at me. I nodded and hopped up off the bed, pushing him into his adjoining room so I could change. He hesitated for a second before allowing me to herd him away from my room.

I shoved myself into a pair of light-wash skinny jeans, whipping the belt through the loops and rummaging through my suitcase to find a shirt to go with it.

My black leather high heel shoes clicked across the marble flooring in the foyer of the hotel. I'd ended up choosing a green tank layered with a white desert springs shirt from Hollister. Accessories included silver studs in my ears, a Thomas Sabo necklace, and a white TNA bag. In the end I looked like a movie star – according to Jared.

Jared twisted the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life. He patted the dashboard.  
>"Whoa there girl," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him. "What?"<p>

"Girl?" I questioned.

"Yes, girl. It's said that if it can be owned it's female," he grinned wickedly. I raised my fist and butted him in the arm.

"You jerk," I pouted. "You're never going to find a girlfriend if you keep that attitude."

He pursed his lips, "But then I'd have more time to spend with my best friend in the _entire_ universe."

"God help that poor person." I winked, staring up at him through my thick lashes. He laughed and ran his hand through his hair, leaning back on the seat further. I did the same, relaxing in the soft leather seats before I felt it jolt to a stop. I opened an eye, "We're here already?"

"Rachel, we've been driving for an hour. You fell asleep." Jared said, mouth pressed in a tight line as he tried not to laugh.

I shot up in my seat, "_Shit_! Is my hair a mess?" I fumbled with the mirror until it finally snapped open, revealing my reflection. The curls were slightly plastered to the side of my face where I had been sleeping. I shook my head, unsticking them to my face. Other than that, and a few stringy curls, it looked fine.

Throughout my miniature freak-out, Jared sat beside me, staring at me with an amused expression. I stuck out my middle finger at him and opened the door, hopping out and calling out a quick thank you before he sped off to the gym.

I strut down the sidewalk, flinging my hair behind my shoulder. As I walked down the long walkway to the mall, I glance around and took a look at my surroundings. Since arriving, I hadn't really taken time to look at the scenery- but it really was a gorgeous island. Splashes of green peeked out from every little place, and the air had a tinge of saltwater from the ocean, no matter how far from the water you were.

I continued to walk down the path, smiling to myself as a leaf fluttered past me, fingers reaching out to grab hold of it.

As I grasped the leaf, laughing quietly, a red glare of light shone in the corner of my eye. I looked over, realizing that it was only a car, pulling to a stop by the curb. there was a sharp jab in my stomach as I stood staring at the vehicle, giving me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had felt like this before, but the thought was moved to the back of my head as soon as it entered my mind. I had some shopping to do, pronto.

I started my walk again, dropping the long forgotten leaf and opening the front doors to the mall. They swung open, releasing the scent of expensive perfume mixed with greasy French fries from the food court. The smell came with a reminder that I hadn't had really anything to eat this morning but I brushed it off subconsciously. I would have plenty of time to eat later.

I turned down the hall, my heels clacking on the marble floors and my reflection shining off the store windows. I glanced at the mannequins quickly, not seeing anything that spoke to me. That was my process when shopping. Go through and see what makes your jaw drop, then ignore the prices and buy it.

After a half hour of longing sighs, I finally made my first purchase- short black boots with a two inch heel and an arrangement of buckles decorating the sides. Pare that up with white ripped jeans that had more skin showing then there was material, a baggy navy blue shirt that fell off the shoulder and an array of necklaces I was ready to hit the next shop. Let me tell you this- 236$ in one store? Money well spent.

Before heading out into another store, I contemplated sitting down beside the shining water pooling in the large marble fountain located in the middle of the hall.  
>Shrugging, i purchased a frozen yogurt with pineapple and blueberries crushed in and made my way to the fountain. Under the water, there was thousands of shining coins, some starting to dull from being underneath the clear water for so long.<br>I fished my own quarter and dropped it in, seeing the water ripple as the coin struck the surface.

Mesmerized by the shining coin, I didn't notice anyone coming up behind me until I saw his reflection in the water.

I jumped, spinning around, "Oh, Um- hi?" The boy behind me looked around my age, with shaggy black hair falling over his eyes. He didn't reply, and looked up from the floor to my face.

I gasped, nearly tipping into the fountain. The boy's eyes were bright red and stared unblinkingly at me. He tipped his head to the side, as if listening to something, before closing his eyes and sighing, nodding slightly with an irritated expression on his face.

"_Raydon_!" There was a shout, and this time I _did_ fall back in the fountain, the water splashing up and hitting the boy- Raydon –directly onto his glowing eyes. He shuddered, back lurching and twisting as if creating a new body.

I tore my eyes away from Raydon and looked to wear the voice came from. There were two guys staring at Raydon, one angry, the other horrified. I took a closer look, my stomach pulsing so quickly, causing me to scream out in agony. The two boys- auburn haired and black haired -looked over at me and exchanged a nod.

The black haired boy ran towards Raydon, leaping onto him and kicking him to the floor, then looping his arm around his neck and twisting his legs around the other boy's. The other boy ran towards me, causing the pulsing to flare even more. He looked down at me in panic, mouth moving to form words that were lost on me, the pain thudding in my ears.

He seemed to growl and reached towards me, then stopped, seeing the water. Finally, he shouted something over his shoulder and picked me up, his arms plunging in the cold water. He held his face down quickly, a flash of red catching my attention through the anguish.

The boy carried me out of the mall, running in front of the other one, who was dragging Raydon along with him. They bolted outside and lurched into a shiny red car, barrelling me into the back seat and throwing Raydon in the trunk before climbing in and speeding down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dante

The scenery flew by as I drove well over the speed limit, the car humming calmly. Luca growled as he tried to dry himself off and retract the fangs and ears. He glanced at me, I shook my head; his eyes were still faintly tinted red. I glanced in the review mirror and saw the girl – Rachel – she was cowering in her seat clutching her gut a pained expression on her face.

My eyes darted back to the road seeing the huge silver milk truck just in time to pull the e-brake and drift around it, the driver slamming on the brakes, horn blaring. With ease I pushed the e-brake I'd back down and straightened the car while onlookers stared at the gleaming car and the tinted windows reflecting their astonished faces. I grinned.

"You enjoyed that far too much," Luca glared at me. "Is it possible for you to not attract any attention when you drive?"

My grin widened, "Nope."

"Clearly," Luca groaned. I glanced back at Rachel and saw she now had both arms stretched out clutching the sides of the car. Her eyes were huge and her lips pressed together in a thin line.

I slowed down as I neared the gravel driveway to our hideout. There was a thump from the trunk.

"Shit," I swore. "We need to get him inside, and quick." The old log house loomed in front of us as we came to a stop, the gravel crunching.

I glanced at Luca, "You take the girl, and I'll take care of Raydon." He nodded. Satisfied, I jumped out of the car. I whipped out my key and got ready to club Raydon over the head if he was fully awake. Twisting the lock, I flung open the trunk.

Raydon lurched forward swinging his fist to try and catch me in the jaw. I was having none of it. With a quick twist out of the way I laid my fist squarely on his jaw, knocking him out cold once again.

There was a gasp. I looked up to see Rachel's mouth hanging open and Luca rolling his eyes at me as he tried to drag her away.. She seemed to collect herself and her mouth closed with an audible snap.

"Where are you taking me?" she glared at Luca over her shoulder. She jerked her arm out of his grasp and started at him defiantly. I hoisted Raydon over my shoulder and looked at Luca pointedly.

Luca reached for her arm once again but she whisked herself well out of his reach, unaware that I was standing right behind her. Luca took a step forward.

"Don't come near me," her voice was calm and void of any fear. The only indications that she was scared were her hands; they were clutched in tight fists, shaking slightly.

"Small chance of that," I whispered in her ear, her hair brushing the side of my face. "Now, won't you be a sweet and do as we say?" she jumped and spun around, curls jumping and giving Luca a chance to grab her. Her eyes narrowed, I grinned and strode past her, Raydon's arms swinging with every step.

I made my way inside. The sun shone brightly on the pine dinner table and chairs to my right, reflecting into my eyes. The kitchen was spotless directly in front of me and the doorway to my left led to the plain brown upholstery of the sofa and recliner.

Stairs led up to the two bedrooms and one washroom and another set of stairs led down to the basement, where the interrogating would be held. The old wooden steps creaked under the combined weight of Raydon and me.

Making my way down the small corridor, I opened the first door on my right and dropped Raydon onto the cold metal chair waiting for him.

Flicking the lights on, I went to get a bucket of cold water.

Locking the door on my way out, I took the stairs two at a time. Walking into the kitchen, I saw Luca and Rachel sitting at the table. Luca was leaning forward and she was leaning back, seeming to try and get as far away as possible.

Luca's lips moved and Rachel's eyes widened. Her brows pulled together and she started shaking her head, long locks of hair flipping over the back of the chair and her shoulders.

Stepping outside, I made my way around the house. Grabbing a bucket, I filled it with ice cold water. Twisting the tap closed I walked back to the front door.

As I was carrying the water back to the basement, Rachel's eyes followed my every move, eyes trained on the bucket. I set the bucket down by the steps and went back into the kitchen.

I grabbed a chair and turned it, resting my arms on the back. I looked at my brother, his face was expressionless.

"Well?" Rachel's body stiffened. I glanced over at her. Within the depths of her emerald green eyes, defiance shone back at me, taking me by surprise.

"I've told her about us," Luca never took his eyes off Rachel. "Shouldn't you be with Raydon?"

I snorted. "I've got time," I grinned. "He's out cold, couldn't even take one hit." I shook my head sadly. Luca leaned back, his lips twitching while observing Rachel.

He glanced at me. "I still haven't told her about...that." Rachel shifted in her seat, clearing her throat. I glanced at her, raising my eyebrows.

"I-I need to go to the bathroom," she shifted in her seat again, glancing up at us.

"Ah, yeah sure, right this way," I got up and led her through the house, up the stairs and to the only bathroom.

"Thanks," her tentative smile lit up her face.

"No problem," I smiled slowly, staring at her beauty. She slowly closed the door and I made my way back downstairs.

Luca raised an eyebrow. "Don't go falling for her now," he said.

I grinned. "Don't worry, that's not going to happen." I sat down opposite of him and tuned in with my wolf hearing, waiting for the hint that Rachel was done in the washroom.

"What are you going to do about Raydon?" Luca asked.

I shrugged. "Interrogate him, and try to get any useful information out of him about Dracio," I leaned back in my chair. Luca nodded his head.

"Dracio's been in hiding for... how many years now... five?" Luca rested his chin on his palm.

"Yeah something like that," I sighed. Dracio was Raydon's boss, who was currently in hiding. Last time he poked his head aboveground he nearly lost it due to mine and Luca's efforts of having tracked him down and throwing everything we had at him, with no avail, we never even got close to Dracio himself.

The next time he tries to inconspicuously sneak around we won't give him a chance; he's done enough harm to our race that we could never forgive him.

The first time Dracio made an appearance was before Luca and I were born. He'd wanted to take over and be king of the demon race. One by one he won over all the different kinds of demons, and bringing them all together to make a stronghold of demons. The last race to overcome was the wolf race.

Unfortunately for Dracio, they objected to his ruling, drawing back and rising in numbers to form a band of rebelling demons. Working in secret, this band had spies in Dracio's group, who collected information to be sent back to headquarters.

Eventually those spies convinced many numbers of demons to overthrow Dracio. Only a few demons refused to join, threatening to tell Dracio about their network. Due to these threats, it was decided that no more time should be wasted.

A war started, and many demons were killed, most of which were wolf demons. The whole race was nearly wiped out within a single day. In the end, Dracio's army lost to the immense number of forces against him and went into hiding.

Ever since, every generation searches and waits for him to get revenge for their ancestors.

Luca shifted in his chair. "Shouldn't you be checking on Raydon?" He nodded towards the living room where the basement door was.

Twisting in my chair, I glanced into the living room. "Yeah, I guess," I said and stood up, making my way through the living room and down the basement stairs.

Opening the heavy metal door I saw Raydon was still out. I rolled my eyes and picked up the bucket of cold water, pouring it over his head. I watched his body jerk and his eyes fly open.

"Hello, Raydon," I drawled, grinning. "How you feelin'?"

Raydon scowled. "Just great, especially now that I'm soaking wet," his lips compressed into a thin line. My grin widened.

"Well, you won't be in a good mood by the time I'm done with you." My grin disappeared, replaced by a solid mask, showing no emotion whatsoever. "Now, what is it that brought you to Commercial Island?" I asked, using my nickname for PEI. "And it sure as hell had better be a good reason." Raydon's eyes slid my way, a smile playing on his lips.

"Now," He drew out the word. "Why would I tell you that?"

"Because you will experience some pain if you don't." There was a steely edge to my voice.

Raydon snorted. "You'll _never_ get it out of me, you know," he said abruptly. "I was trained to withstand any and all methods of torture, from whips to poison, I can take anything."

"Well, you're out of luck then, because my methods have nothing to do with whips or poison," I said coldly. A knock on the door roused me from my cold, senseless state. I hesitated a second before laying my fist to Raydon's jaw once again, knocking him out cold.

I swung open the door to find Luca standing there with a strained expression on his face. I frowned.

"Is he out?" Luca glanced behind me and nodded. "Good, we've got a problem, she's gone, Rachel's gone." Luca tapped his foot and looked me in the eye desperately.

"Shit," I ran a hand through my hair, mussing it up. "How?"

"Through the bathroom window," Luca started up the narrow steps to the living room. I closed the door to Raydon behind me and followed my brother into the kitchen. "Tell me _everything_."

Luca nodded. "So, I was down here sitting at the table, waiting when I checked the clock; it had been nearly twenty minutes since she went up. I was starting to get concerned so I went up and knocked on the door. There was no answer, and I knocked again, still, no answer. So I broke the lock and found the window open. Several sheets were tied together to make a makeshift rope. I looked out but there was no one below. I wasn't sure if it was a trap, so I ran into our bedrooms and found all our sheets gone and she wasn't anywhere to be seen."

I blew out a breath. Her bravery impressed me, she was the first girl not to scream her lungs out at being kidnapped, told an extremely unbelievably story, and still climb out a bathroom window with her two captors just down a flight of stairs. I still could not believe that we let her get away.

"Guess the best thing to do is to go searching for her. Raydon will be out for a while longer so he won't pose a problem," Luca nodded his agreement. "Also, we should transform so we can find her easier. No one will see us since we're in the middle of the woods."

"Yeah sure, sure that's probably for the better." Luca was already transforming in his haste to get going and find her.

I raised an eyebrow at his eagerness to find her. Truthfully, I was also slightly uneasy with the idea of her running around alone in the woods. I took a deep breath and centered myself, slowing the beat of my heart and quieting my thoughts.

Summoning the demon inside, I let it rush all throughout my body like liquid fire. My body burned hot like lava, and then cooled off as the transformation finished.

Opening my eyes, I ran my tongue over my fangs. My ears twitched and caught sounds miles off and my body shivered, wanting to run through the forest, and breathe in the scent of the soft earthy ground and fresh air.

Power surged within me, sending a shiver of anticipation down my spine. I loved it when I transformed. While some demons thought that their power was a curse, I thought of it as a gift and relished in the feeling of invincibility that rushed over me.

Luca stood before me, his auburn hair hanging long down his back and light brown eyes glowing red. My black hair had also grown to just rest above my shoulders in thick straight locks and eyes still cobalt but tinted red.

I flung open the front door and stepped outside, immediately picking up Rachel's scent. I nodded towards the woods on my right and sprinted forward, Luca following close behind. We made our way through the trees at a steady pace for about a minute.

Suddenly, her scent stopped, just cut off, like a cliff. I frowned and looked at Luca. Silently he motioned that he would backtrack and disappeared into the thick brush.

I circled the small clearing where Rachel's flowery scent disappeared and ran a 3 kilometre radius, still not finding any hint of her scent.

Puzzled I made my way back to the end of her scent trail and pondered a few possibilities.

Firstly, she could've climbed up a tree, but then her scent would've ended at her base of a tree. She could've had time to make a scent trail, which is highly unlikely since she wasn't even gone for that long.

Another possibility surface in my mind; someone could've abducted her. Now that I thought about it, there was another scent in the air, but not on the ground.

Quickly, I climbed up a tree and caught a strong whiff of the other scent. It was a demon, although I had no idea what kind of demon.

I swore and dropped down from the tree onto all fours. Glancing up, I could now see the gap between the branches. So, she'd been taken from above, by a demon that could fly.

I scanned the surrounding area and caught a flash of white in the otherwise green scenery out of the corner of my eye. Walking over, I discovered a piece of Rachel's shirt. I rubbed it between my fingers, feeling the texture of it to determine how long it was hanging there. Her scent drifted around me filling my sensitive nose. She smelled like lilies. I snorted, she was impossible to ignore. I shoved the scrap of material into my pocket and made my way back to the cabin to inform Luca.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rachel

I was being hurtled through the air, spinning and flipping around so much it was hard to tell which way was right-side up. The person- or thing –carrying me had me in a stony grip, their hands clutching my wrist so tightly I was beginning to lose feeling in my hands. Or maybe that was just from the cold.

The wind enveloped me, icy fingers spreading across my body and freezing me to the core. I didn't have enough energy to shiver, and air filled my mouth quickly when I opened it. The rush of air seemed to suffocate me, making it impossible to scream.

I glanced down, my eyes watering from the pressure of the wind, and instantly regret it. The earth below me got smaller and smaller as I got higher and higher. We sailed through the sky, taking sharp turns that made me fly in every direction, limp as a rag doll.

I could feel the grip on my wrists loosen, and heard somebody swear. I glanced up, surprised to hear a human voice, and grabbed their own wrists desperately so I wouldn't hurtle to the ground. We dropped suddenly; my eyes squeezing shut and my stomach whirling. I felt something solid against my feet- the ground. I dropped, knees buckling as collapsed onto the damp grass.

I glanced up, breathing heavily from the drop, and blinked in surprise at the man standing before me. He looked a little older than I was, with long hair to the middle of his back. The silky strands were crimson red, and circled his face gently in the breeze. He glared at me with bloodshot red eyes, almost the same colour as his hair, and revealed the two pointed horns that protruded from the mass of hair on his head.

It wasn't the eyes that got to me, nor was it the unnatural horns just above his forehead. It was the wings that forced me to choke back a scream. They were huge, the blue and green colours seeming to bleed together. They extended from his shoulder blades, and had lethal-looking hooks lining the top of them.

He hardly seemed to notice my gaze, and turned his eyes away from me, grimacing as he inspected a hole in his wing. It appeared to have a wooden shaft sticking out from it, scarlet red dripping from the wound. He took a deep breath and snapped the stick in half, biting his lip and pulling it out. I recognized it as an arrow, and glanced around to see who had shot him out of the sky.

There was the sound of heavy footsteps, more than one pair, trampling through the woods. I glanced up at the mutant, not able to say a word.

He curled his lip back and dropped the arrow to the ground, "Wolves." He snarled. The growl got louder, vibrating through my veins as he stood up confront the things coming through the forest.

I heard it before I saw it, the small stick whizzing through the air as if it had a life of its own. It struck the creature, hitting its shoulder with a sickening crunch.

"_Kade you bastard!_" I recognized the voice and got up in relief, waiting to see Luca pound through the opening and whisk me away like in some fairy tale. Instead, another one of the creatures came out, long auburn hair loose around his shoulders and a tall blade in his hand. It looked over at me, two long glistening teeth bared in a snarl as it once again focused its red eyes on the creature it had called Kade.

Another one of them shot through the trees, a long bow carved with gleaming runes on it in his hand. He yanked an arrow from what looked like an empty quiver on his back. Sure enough, a long wooden arrow was shooting through the air at Kade, and he reached for another in the empty leather pouch. Still, more arrows were flying through the air, every one of them striking Kade.

My heartbeat sped up, hands shaking quickly as I watched the three of them fight. I let out a sharp shriek as one of them was swatted through the air, his bow crashing to the floor. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, letting out a gasp. I couldn't see his face, thanks to the black hair that ran over his features like a river and blocking my view.

I glanced up and saw Kade heaving; his hands on his knees and blood pouring out from multiple wounds the arrows had given him. He stretched out his wings, about to take flight and fly away. I realized this a split second before the man with the auburn hair had. He let out a triumphant cry and ran forward, blade sticking straight up as he leapt to intersect the beast taking flight from the ground.

The sword entered its body swiftly, sticking out from its back. Blood poured down onto the attacker's hand, running down his fingers and spilling onto the grass. Kade looked at the blade in confusion, as if he wasn't sure how it had gotten there, before collapsing on the ground. The man pulled out the blade and tossed it up, watching it shimmer and fade out as if it had never been there in the first place.

Without any hesitation he ran over to his partner, calling out a name in panic. I wasn't able to make out what he had said, my heartbeat picking up a fast pace as my vision blurred. I drew in a sharp breath before a black wave of oblivion swept over me.

I was dragged back to a conscious state by icy water splashed onto my face. I gasped, eyes shooting wide open.

"Hey, Rachel. It's fine!" I found myself looking into deep brown eyes, the colour of melted Hershey kisses. The voice continued, "Are you okay?"

"Luca!" I breathed, flinging my arms around him, knees shaky. He laughed quietly and backed out of my grip. My face flushed.

"Are you okay?" Luca asked again, eyes serious. He didn't seem to notice the redness to my cheeks as he inspected me, worried lines etched into his features.

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine." I heard somebody scoff from behind me and turned slowly, trying not to crinkle my nose in pain. Shuffling around slightly, I could spot Dante, his cobalt eyes leering at me from underneath his shaggy black bangs, "Yes?" I hissed.

His lips quirked slightly, although he managed to keep the same frustratingly bored expression on his face, "Well, I was just going to point out that by the amount of blood pouring from that gash above your forehead, I'd say you were a little less then perfectly fine." He rolled his eyes and turned away. Luca glared at his twin brother before brushing my blond bangs out of the way. He took a quick intake of breath, lines creasing into his forehead.

"Dante, you need to get this stitched up." Luca called out, eyes straying away from the wound long enough to shoot him a glance.

I gulped, "S-stitches? No, I'm fine." I scurried away from him before he could think to grab hold of me. The _last_ thing I wanted to do was get a needle and thread poked through my skin- especially by Dante.

"Rachel, it isn't that bad."

Dante gave a sly smile, "Yeah Rachel, all I'm going to be doing is taking a metal stick and a piece of string. Then it goes into your flesh. Sure, it might bleed a hell of a lot-" Luca silenced him with a glare.

I ignored the gruesome picture Dante was painting for me, "If it isn't that bad, why do I need to get it stitched? And why does it have to be_him_?" I gestured towards Dante's silent figure. The words had come out harsher then I had meant it to, but he just regarded it with an amused expression.

"You really do need to get this fixed." Luca frowned, "And Dante's the only one who knows how to do medical stuff. I never needed to learn how." I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. There wasn't any way to get out of this. I fixed a glare on Dante, who held up his hands in surrender.

"I never asked for this. Hell, I don't even know you. Why should I bother helping you?" Luca sighed, obviously irritated with our bickering, and pulled me along with him, knowing that Dante would follow behind us. Walking out of the forest took at least a good hour and a half. I couldn't help but grimace every couple of steps, and mentally cursed myself after each flinch.

Seeing a break in the trees, all three of us simultaneously quickened our pace, just wanting to be out of the woods. We piled into their car, me riding in the back seat and shooting a baleful glare I kept fixated on the back of Dante's shaggy black head. Every couple of minutes, Luca would glance up in the rear-view mirror, as if to check if I was still breathing.

"I'm fine." I growled, after what seemed like the millionth glance, "Stop gawking at me like I'm going to fall unconscious."

It might have been the purr of the engine, but I was pretty positive I heard Dante give a quiet laugh.

We finally pulled into the small log house I had escaped from before. I felt my stomach churn and twist at the sight of it. Or maybe the feeling had always been there.

"Home sweet home." Dante smirked, shooting me a satisfied look from behind his back. I smiled sweetly and extended my middle finger out at him. He pretended to flinch, as if it had physically hurt him, "Ouch. Going to have to do more than that to hurt me, Jade." He winked.

My mouth popped open involuntarily, "How do you know my last name?" I snapped my jaw closed quickly and crossed my arms across my chest. I was pretty sure I looked as threatening as a fly next to him, but didn't care.

His smirk widened, "Rachel Jade, 19, goes to Ruzbic University." He reached into his pocket and grabbed a hold of my wallet, which contained my bus pass, driver's license, and passport. I fought to find something to say but came up empty. Instead I reached over and plucked the wallet out from his hands and turned away. He just laughed, knowing he had won.

I tried not to think about what a nice laugh he had, and focused on the auburn hair of Luca as I followed him into the house. After all, _he_ was the one who had saved me- right? I bit my lip and thought back to the moments before I had been knocked unconscious, but couldn't remember anything.

The moment I stepped into the house, a muffled shout came from the basement. I saw Dante stifle a groan, and tried not to smirk at his annoyed expression. Luca flashed his brother a glance and sighed, "You fix her up- I'll go see how much time we have left until he manages to get out of the chains. Dante nodded and sat me down on the chair with a hard hand on the shoulder.

"Sit- stay." He instructed, voice cold. I wondered if he showed any emotions at all. It didn't seem like it. Despite my gut feeling to get up and get the hell out of there, I stayed. I didn't want a replay of what happened _last_ time. Dante came back a couple minutes later, arms full with different bottles and cloths. He poured a small bit of one of the liquids on the rag and moved the hair out from my forehead, pressing it against the cut there.

I let out a hiss, the alcohol stinging. He let out a smirk, "Suck it up." Regardless, he loosened the pressure of it, being gentler with it.

_Dante? Being gentle? Oh God, the world is coming to an end..._ I thought dramatically. He continued to clean the cut, blood staining the cloth when it was pulled away. I felt my stomach clench at the sight of it.

Then he pulled out the needle.

I flinched away as he took it out, earning an eyebrow raise from him. Then he seemed to clue in as to why I was freaking out, and sighed, turning to face me.

"It's not a big deal. It'll be done before you know it." He muttered, threading the needle and bringing it close to my face. I squeezed my eyes shut and held onto the side of my pants. He pulled back, giving me an annoyed expression, "How am I supposed to do this if you keep shaking?" He asked, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Suck it up." I said, mocking him from earlier. He rolled his eyes and then set to work, the thread weaving skilfully to close the wound. He cut the thread and took a wet cloth to try and get the blood off his fingers. Without saying anything, he got up and walked downstairs, sending Luca up a second later. He sat down beside me, his fingers brushing lightly over the cut.

"You're okay?" He asked doubtfully, his eyes filled with concern as he inspected his brother's medical work.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine I guess. Just..." I hesitated.

"Just...?" He prompted.

"My stomach just feels weird. Probably just a stomach ache."

He frowned, creases appearing in his forehead, "Yeah..." He mused, "A stomach ache." He shook his head and got up, giving me a light kiss on the head, "Anyways- I'm glad you're okay." I looked up at him, surprised by his actions.

"Y-Yeah." I stammered, my face heating up. He smiled, eyes softening as he looked at me. He held out a hand and helped me to my feet, so close our faces were inches apart. The tension hung heavy in the air, neither one of us daring to make the next move.

A shout distracted us both, making us jump apart guiltily. Luca leapt over to the stairs, where Dante's black head was barely visible, "Raydon!" He shouted, "He's a dragon." Luca's eyes widened, just as thick black smoke came pouring up the stairway. The door slammed shut, separating the two from their discussion. Luca jumped down to the door and gave it a tug.

"It's stuck." He exclaimed, not able to open it.

"Yeah, probably Raydon's doing. He got out." Dante's voice was muffled from the other side, "Anyways, you need to get out. The place is on fire-" He was cut off by a round of coughing, the smoke apparently finding a way into his lungs.

"See you on the outside." Luca said, strangely calm, before he bounded up the steps. The rest of the house irrupted into flames, the heat unbearable. I stumbled, unable to see in the smoke, and fell. There was a crack from my ankle, and deep tremors of pain shot up my leg. I gasped and looked around, trying to spot Luca. I couldn't see him.

The smoke was everywhere, the thick streams pouring into my mouth and stinging my eyes. I choked out a cough, shaking my head to try and gain some of my vision back. The smoke continued to roll over me, engulfing me in its dark webs. I couldn't breathe- couldn't see. Summoning the last breath in me, I managed to cough out a shriek, "_Luca!" _


End file.
